The Life of A Kartel Soldier
by Nakedsnakeman1990
Summary: A story about the losing side of the Ghent conflict told through the eyes of a hardened war veteran and his squad.
1. Charles Miller

**Entry one: Beginning days of the long march towards hell.**

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My name is Charles Miller, I'm about 39 pushing to 40s. I joined the Kartel Army because I was desperately looking for a job which I couldn't find in Ghent due to being thrown out at a young age. I'm currently a first class Sergeant in the fields having gone through sorties and messes already as a so called "Hardened" war veteran. Over the years I've been here, my friends have slowly died out in our struggle to overtake Ghent. Frankie just died a year ago at the age of 25. Michael, Jack, and Mark, my good cocktail drinking buddies also died in a large scale battle that got us up to the north, east, south, and Ghent forests. I've just been reassigned a different squad with some new youngsters and another Sergeant. A kid named Stanley Woods who's quite the deadpan snarker but has a good eagle-eye when paired with a sniper as far as I've seen his records demonstrate. Next is Zeke Martin, goofy joker, enjoys playing video games in our downtime, and flirts quite a bit with our female unit but his skill with machine guns and other heavy weaponry are exceptional for a recruit. The last kid to mention is William Jason, our handy rifle man with quite a knack for close quarters combat. He's quite dangerous in a mid to close range fight as far as records say. As for personality, he's courteous but shy outside of the battlefield, almost like me when I was younger in the days. As for the sarge, he's Bill "Sandy-eyes" or so his eye patch would say. No one really knows his last name though, to say the very least but the guy has a good track record for surviving grueling battles. It's our first day together, so we meet casually around a campfire and eat rations while sharing jokes and beer before heading out to our first assignment. I know those guys in the Ghent Army think we're all jackasses who pillage and rape women like sick monsters but honestly, we're about as human as they are. Our new recruits probably are fubar'd as badly as theirs sometimes and die miserable deaths on day one. Those who do survive have to keep fighting and fighting till they die or win. All of this makes me think of how I was raised…


	2. Loneliness

**Entry Two: Loneliness.**

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When I was a little boy, I was unfortunately living in sexist Ghent times where families just didn't have enough to raise a son and a daughter. Naturally due to feminazi standards, women were picked first as priorities since they were oh so superior. Thinking about it, it's no surprise that there are stories about units that violate them due to how egotistical these women have been. I've seen it happen live before, heck they offered me a chance to join in the act but I just coldly continued my way to the café while she was screaming for help and crying. I don't blame these guys, they went through the same junk as I did so it'd naturally create a thirst for revenge of sorts. Guess humiliation is their favorite method though as disproportionate as it is. When I was 10, they finally decided to toss me out to the wastelands to die. I literally had to pickpocket, kill wild animals, and whatever the heck one does to survive. I did that for a good 5 or so years, effectively learning how to assassinate at an age where kids would be in school learning world peace(as Ghent taught it that is). An officer from the Kartel army noticed my talents and picked me up for training. It was like salvation to me, as wrong as this path is in the eyes of others. I was fed, clothed, had a good source of entertainment, and had friends. Despite being trained to be a soldier, it was a better life than my hand to mouth existence. I got rewarded for doing stuff too, instead of being ignored for the other sex. While people in the other army shed tears for their wives, family, etc…I sadly have none of those to shed tears for. The soldiers I fight with, eat with, and mess around with are my family. I shed some Indian tears each time my closest comrades died in the field of battle at the briefings. Just that one silky tear rolling down your eyes and clouding your vision as memories rushed in of all the good times you've had with the person. As a hardened soldier, it's the ultimate sign of grief for one taught to be so emotionless. If there are Gods in this world, they sure have a sick sense of humor.


	3. First Strike

**Entry three: First Strike**

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Our first mission in the field was hot, sandy, chaotic, and bloodstained. Years of training wouldn't prepare one to kill on a day such as this. Most recruits are amazed they can get through the first hour let alone day one. We were to overrun an anti-artillery Ghent outpost in order to pave the way for tanks. It was fortified on a high plateau that we were suppose to run to. I read about a scene like this from a book once. People ran off of carriers on cold beaches and got mowed down until they managed to reach a wall where they wouldn't be touched by the bullets. So in order to prevent that kind of messy slaughter from happening to our squad, Bill and I had the heavy artillery launchers fire their rockets into the cannon batteries up there to distract the enemy while we kept moving up to close the gap. A bullet whizzed through my helmet as I narrowly avoided being a casualty of sniper fire. Bill yelled "DUCK!" as everyone proceeded to drop to the floor. A few of our squad mates just weren't as lucky though. Five were nicked in either the ribs, stomach, leg, arm, or head. The one who got shot in the head was lucky since he was off in a better place. As for the others, they screamed to random Gods that they believed in while writhing in total agony as their guts spilled out. Medics rushed to save their lives with potions as fast as they could. I spotted two snipers with my binoculars and quickly gave Stanley a signal. He understood my hand sign and proceeded to cleanly place a bullet right through the scope of one enemy sniper. He then shot the other sniper right in the head. The danger was over and we continued up while medics evacuated the injured back to our camp down south. We got up into the bunker and everyone started firing at the enemies in front of them. The Ghent soldiers gave us a hard fight, firing their chain guns, tossing grenades, and other things thrown at us. We threw back hard though as in the middle of the fire fight, Zeke slammed down his heavy machine gun and proceeded to mow 10 of these guys down. I was personally killing them with the M4 custom carbine I had in my hands, managing to kill a good 6. William killed double of what I did. At this point, the battle here was already decided but we still needed to flush out the bunkers. I had a few men come with me to one and tossed a grenade to Bill. Bill removed the cork and tossed it in there. A few screams were heard but just to be sure, I went to the whole and sprayed my whole clip of M4 ammo along with an under barrel grenade shot just to be safe. My face was devoid of emotions at the end of this despite the crisp smell of burnt human flesh and fresh guts all over. We then made it to the bunker with the high priority officer we needed to take hostage pronto. We needed the officer to get the location of the princess of Ghent and successfully kidnap her to break morale. I gave a signal to William and he knew what to do. I tossed a flash grenade and blinded all of the men in the room. William went in and knocked everyone out with a quick succession of Judo flips and held the commander hostage at the end. The rest of the troops were too scared to fight back so we took them prisoner too. I got my radio and called my superior officer.

"Cinnamon, Cinnamon? This is Hound-1, we've secured the package and the base, over and out."

He responded with "Great job Hound-1, go set up camp here since we've secured the other bases too." I relay the orders from my superior and we immediately started setting up camp.


	4. Aftermath

**Entry 4: Aftermath**

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The aftermath of this battle was mixed. Some of the greenhorns had some breakdowns from taking their first lives ever. Veterans didn't really give much of a dang and some recruits were already turning into sadistic blood knights so far, driven to temporary insanity by feeling a high when they killed someone. We all sat down as a few people started setting up a mini mess hall in the bunkers. Today's special was hearty meat stew. This was a rare occasion as we usually ate Meals Ready to Eat rations where you heat up a bag using water and instantly get food. Some were good, some poor saps got the vegetable and cheese omelet. We never knew what real home cooking with love and care tasted like, unlike the people in the Ghent Army with loving families. To us, simple beef stew days, taco days, Pho days, and whatever day we were offered a good meal was our home cooking. Bill and I had some long and strangely random chats about weird stuff like Animes, Mangas, and strange things adults shouldn't even like.

"So Charles, did you ever watch Grave Of The Fireflies?"

I responded, "No, what is that thing about?"

He then answered, "Well, it's a movie were you get to watch two kids struggle just like us except they don't make it, die miserably, and it shows just what war does to people. Most of the people here who watched it couldn't help but cry when that they heard the line 'But she never woke up.' at the near end of the movie. I don't blame them, watching a brother buy so much food for the sister only to have her die is a saddening moment."

"Ah, that is a really saddening movie, if I were younger, I'd cry the crap out of myself watching this but I guess that's not happening soon." I replied.

"Well anyways, lets get some food before we have to snack on Biscuits and Gravy MREs again." Bill said as he left off to get some food. I followed suit and got myself a bowl. Our group sat down and had another random off topic discussion while we made nom sounds chewing our stew for the heck of it. Another hard days ends in a long string of hard days. Tomorrow would be another battle but times where you sit down and laugh with your comrades still prove that humanity exists even in the most war hardened people I suppose. Hmm, maybe I am getting sentimental…


	5. Second Impact

**Entry 5: Second Impact**

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Well, after a good 4 hours of sleep, we were up and at it again as we were driven to another battlefield site in this sandy desert, this time the regiment was full of supposedly "Elite" women we had to eliminate. The mission was to capture the officers to map out a sneak entry into the palace. Too bad it wasn't simple this time as they had launchers and mechanics who were able to kill us with their gadgets and gizmos. Good thing I was a former "Specialist" killer who specialized in killing subclasses such as this. I had snipers blow out the little flying robots on the mechanics to cripple them while our troops moved in for the kill. Bill certainly proved his reputation of sandy eyes today as he killed at least thirty of the launchers and mechanics with a simple calico sub machinegun in one hand and a USP in another hand. Zeke, Stanley, and William also made names for themselves as the three killed a total of sixty by using a combination of sniping, automatics, and explosives. Although whole platoons were wiped out by Steyr shots, Lasers, Flame throwers, and what have you, we won the lottery big time. We captured a good total of at least two hundred and all of the officers. They'll break in no time with our torture. Next came a barbaric scene of depravity. Men lined up in circles as we chained the women on the trucks. Many dropped their pants and proceeded to violate and disgrace them in ways that even I find appalling. Forcing them to eat dirt, making them urinate, whipping them with a gun handle, shoving the barrel in them, slapping them, forcibly screwing them, and other acts. Zeke naturally took part in this while William and Stanley just had their faces in their hand, shaking their head at the sorry mess. We took random intervals to make them suffer more as we ate delicious food when all they got was well…you get the point. Cries for help gradually distorted into moans for more abuse and more violation. Simply put it, our men can turn these women into vegetables in a mere 10 hour cycle or so. Thus they turn into slaves. Reminds me of a sick movie I watched once where a poor kid was raped for forty days, killed, and shoved in a cement barrel. The lingering smell of the abuse was everywhere by the end of the ordeal, hell it was even all over their bodies. Disgusting? Sure but this is the by-product of revenge sadly and the process continues even after a war is over. Is there such thing as peace?


	6. Mind Of Steel

**Entry 6: Mind of Steel**

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Today was a rather bad day. We had an assignment to wipe out another enemy post near the back wall of Ghent's gate so we could drill a hole in the back and covertly kidnap the princess. I was in camp reading this one fairy tail translated into English about a guy who could see death lines and a really awesome vampire to pass time before we got the order. When time came, we once again got in our Armed Personnel Carriers (APCs) and went to the outpost. The bad news is that it was a damned town so there were a lot of problems. New recruits didn't have the soullessness to shoot down innocent civilians. There was a huge army waiting for us outside in trenches firing at us. Launchers were shooting us with lasers and we were being bombed by mechanics. Despite the mess, we blew up their trenches with a good combination of tank fire and grenades. Then we proceeded to slaughter their army and move into the town where it was hard to distinguish between civilians and troops. Some of our recruits were taken by surprise and…killed. Literally, all of the civilians in that town were so patriotic that they carried weapons. There were even children soldiers despite there being a Ghent law against having those. They would defend this town to the bloody end. Even if we shot them down, if we got too close, they pulled grenades and tried to take us with them. Recruits weren't ready for this. Zeke, William, Stanley, and countless others just couldn't do it. Us war hardened troops however had no such restriction. We cast aside our humanity and turned our mind into steel. The countless greenhorns watched as we slaughter one civilian after another one until the real civilians decided to run to safety towards the gates. We killed some children, yes but this is war and war is hell. Teddy bears laid around staring at us with dead eyes that tell you "children were here.". After the mess we found some families hiding in hidden underground entrances or rooms. Instead of killing them, we took the kids and men as prisoners while the men had their way with the women per usual. We took every food supply they had, adult magazine, and whatever valuables the town got to fund our army. This is the price one pays for a mind of steel. A loss of humanity and the inability to feel sympathy for your victims. The Kartels really are monsters, I'll admit but war is war and the same junk happens. All it takes is the will of a single person to screw everyone's neat little world over. I bet I'll have to keep going through this but this is why it's good not to have ideals. They always betray you at the very end…

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Author's note: God writing about the Kartels was pretty...tough work to say the least.


	7. Castle Crashing

**Entry 7: Castle Crashing**

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As the name implied, that's what we pretty much did this time around. After gathering all the resources, information, and equipment that we needed and prolonged planning, our boss finally gave us a green light to carry out the operation of kidnapping the princess to demoralize the Ghent Army even further. It was a quiet night as troops were going through the hole we just made. My squad however got the assignment of actually kidnapping the princess while everyone else created a diversion. We went to the roof of the Palace in a helicopter while troops who went through the back started their diversionary assault. After we got off, we smashed through the window while clutching onto the grappling rope firing at what we could to minimize the storm of bullets flying at us. As soon as we landed, Zeke opened up with a volley of machine gun bursts to give us time to head into cover. As soon as we were all in cover, he got out a rocket launcher and shot at a group of palace guards. At least twenty were caught in the blast radius and that gave us the window we needed to rush into the next room before more came. We made our way upstairs fighting countless palace guards, female or male, it didn't matter as they had to die anyways. We finally made it to the Princess' room where the elite palace guards were waiting for us.

These people won't go down without a fight so we got ready for whatever fancy revolver tricks they wanted to do. Will, however, instinctively reacted and got out a Knife and a Pistol and did a stance. One of the women actually tried to charge at me in order to close the gap and sweep my feet. Too bad for her I just got out my gun, smacked her upside the head, and then shot her. Bill just casually took out his pistol and killed the other one before she could react. The other three tried to topspin Will off of his feet but he grabbed one while she was actually doing it and tossed her at the other two, then he finished them off one by one with shots to the head. The Princess could only look in sheer horror as Bill knocked her out with a strike to the neck. As for the rest of the Palace, it was burning in the surprise attack that we just pulled off. Our soldiers beat most of the palace forces, but Ghent army reinforcements started pouring in from behind and we knew that we weren't in a condition to launch a full strike against the city itself, so they retreated back to camp. As for us, we saw more reinforcements pouring into the palace also and decided to high tail it out of here. Unfortunately, as we were running, Zeke got shot in the stomach and we had to drag him to safety. He was writhing in much pain and had to be hauled by both Stanley and William. They both had scared looks while watching their comrade bleed out in sheer pain. When we finally reached the roof through the staircase, it was already too late as he kept asking if he was going to live or not. I tried not to break the news to the boy, trying to give him some hope so he can stay alive long enough to get proper treatment but…sugar coating never helped anyone either and being dead is at least better than being a vile monster.

So on the copter, I broke it out to him "Sorry kid, you're going to heaven now." and with that, the guy had a panic attack and died right in front of all of our eyes. We might've bagged a princess, and Zeke might have been an ass after the countless rapes he participated in, but he was still our brother in the end. Will and Stanley shed a few tears for him. As for me, I look on with a distant gaze, knowing that history has just repeated itself once more. Stanley wanted to just violate the princess at that point but just couldn't bring himself to do so. Heck, I wouldn't want to hit her due to just how innocent she looks. She doesn't look like the mongrels we've killed left and right who fight us till the bitter ends. To me, she just looks like the average kid entering her 18-20s range, full of energy, and hopes for the future. Tis a shame we gotta crush all that to win a war.


	8. What is an enemy?

**Entry 8: What is an Enemy?**

We went back to camp and had a downtime period before going back to the main base. It was raining outside so we were messing around inside. Prisoners had some breathing space during this period and could roam around the camp as servants and what not as long as they didn't try to escape. Most prisoners were already mentally broken though so we didn't expect any of them to even bother with escape. I was in a room by myself reading more fairy tales again. I got to my favorite route of the fairy tale finally. It was at the scene of the past and future self trying to kill each other. I wasn't the only one reading it however…

"Who's there?" I asked.

It seemed like the Princess that we kidnapped yesterday was right behind me watching it along with me. She wasn't going to harm me or anything nor was I going to violate her like the other men so I continued on until my favorite part. The princess fell over laughing as I started imitating a magical chant. "What? Is this funny to you?" I asked, slightly enraged.

"Yes actually, why in the world is a man like you reading fairy tales like this that are meant for kids? Aren't you suppose to be doing other things?" She asked, still having a grin on her face.

"So what? It's a fun saga to read, even my friend Bill enjoys this stuff as much as I do!" I replied. I didn't expect to have this much fun with the enemy honestly. We had some weird chats about anime and what have you next along with our favorite foods and things to do. Heck, she even did the god hand smash chant with me! For a princess, she was alright outside of the palace. I'd imagine them being less fun as all of the movies portray but I guess they're just like us. Makes me wonder, what really is an enemy or an ally? Even more importantly, am I just becoming sentimental throughout this experience? I don't really know but humane moments like these make me smile though, to say the least.


	9. Dungeon Fighter Killer

**Chapter 9: Dungeon Fighter Killer.**

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Boy did I earn that codename today. Killing a Dungeon Fighter isn't an easy task for a regular soldier to pull off. These people come from the land of Arad(or in some cases, here since some are what Aradians call Gunners.) They have inhuman powers, extended vitality, and other things that make them a one man army. So how does one kill a Dungeon Fighter? Well, they're human just like us so they die just like us. It's like how one kills a magician. We demonstrated this at the first battle of Ghent Outskirts. Greenhorn Dungeon Fighters were tearing our army up left and right and my squad was sent in again to soften causalities. These people might know how to kill a monster, but they do not know how real warfare works. We aren't stupid morons to charge them head on, that stuff gets us killed. In fact, just today, I fought a man who could summon ghosts, turn invisible, and slash through a goddamned platoon. What'd I do? I coerced him into a c4 trap that I had William plant on the floor. The sucker turned solid at the wrong time and I detonated it, killing him and saving us causalities. Bill fought some male mages who had elemental bombing powers. Good thing he read up on some folk lore where the main character dealt with something like this. We had to make sure they died permanently. He dodged the pillars while lobbing grenades and signaling troops to provide cover fire. We fired and the mage phase shifted to another part of the gate. Bill had Stanley shoot him square in the head with a sniper round. Everyone else then got ready as he revived and ducked for cover as he wasted more mana trying to bomb us. When his invisibility time was up, everyone opened fire and made sure the little brat was dead. We killed skill martial artists, priests, berserk nutcases, and much more after suffering mass causalities. By the end of this first battle, we had about fifty prisoners. The mad scientists in Ghent wanted to see what made em tick so they sent the fifty to the main base for mad experiments. We won for now but if they keep sending those kinds of people to fight us, it's game over for the Kartels. Least we've got the advantage in tactics for now.


	10. Christmas

**Chapter 10: Christmas**

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The months moved by as we started losing a few of our outposts. We lost East Gate and the outskirts due to Dungeon Fighter interference. Gizel was doing mad experiments with the ones we did get in order to make super-soldiers of our own, which I personally find ridiculous to say the least. I went to visit our captive princess in the tower under the excuse of going there to "put her in place" as they would say it since she did complain a bit too much for the guards there. She was gazing at the snowflakes outside of the prison windows, clearly yearning for the outside. No one was around as I walked in.

"Why hello there." I said curtly.

"Which one of you pig…oh, it's you again." She replied, a bit relieved to see my presence. Whether it's stupid or not, we've become friends despite our sides in the war. To her I was just a regular Joe and to me, she was just another girl. Boy do I wish the world would be as simple as this. I slid another book from my collection of fairy tales into the cell.

"Happy Christmas Eve I guess, I know it sucks being here but…it's the least I can do." I said.

"Shame you can't slide me a blanket warmer or something, but this is appreciated. For an enemy, you're a really nice guy, I'm surprised you've never gotten any women with this kind of generosity." She replied. I wish I could answer the question but I can't. For the next 15 minutes, we talked about our Christmas wishes and such. After that, I went off after we said our goodbyes. At least she didn't blame me for what we had to do back at the palace, she understands war's cold reality as well. Yet we're still good friends, or at least friendly enemies. If the war ends and we're both still alive, I wish I could just hang around a café with her and screw around doing what we always do, but I'm honestly convinced I'll die fighting while she gets freed. Guess I'll give her this journal as a last gift if my final day comes, after all, she deserves to know what we think of this mess too in light of our crimes.

After my little detour, Bill, Stan, Will, and I snuck into Ghent as civilians for some screw around time and shopping since our main base utterly sucked in terms of things to do on the holiday. Will managed to get a short lived date with someone as he hung around with a girl for most of the time we were here. Stan went into the entertainment shop and brought some music and "other" things. Seems like they came out with Wild Imperial Girls as a magazine for men as he was staring at that junk all day long (emphasis on junk). As for me and Bill, we went to Oasis due to its reputation as one of the best bars around Ghent. It was Christmas eve, we were in the mood for cocktails, so we figured why not. We went into the bar and there was no one there but the owner.

"Welcome, how may I serve you today?" He asked.

"No need to be courteous, we're just oddballs from the south end of the world." Bill told him as we sat down.

"Two Tom and Jerry's please." I said.

"Alright, coming up then." The Bartended replied as he went to get the ingredients.

Bill and I went on with our idle chats about the various entertainments we watch in our spare time. Heated arguments between our favorite characters flair up. It was nerdy for two war mongers but hey, we all can self indulge a little, can't we? We constantly tried to not talk about how the war was going since we were in the heart of enemy territory after all.

"Hey Charles, ever wondered what spending Christmas with a real family feels like?" He asked all of the sudden.

"No, not really, I've done this without one for so long that it doesn't even matter anymore. Families are for the lucky, you're lucky if you even had a mom and dad to cherish, as for people like us, we have no such luxuries since we got tossed out after all. Same goes with siblings, you might hate them when you're young but when you're older, you find them to be that one friend you just can't replace. For us, we're just doing a rondo of blood. Still though, if I could choose, I'd love to just go back to the past and experience a proper Christmas with family and friends, feasting on a large holiday table, hearing the sounds of laughter as kids open presents with glee, and getting wasted with friends." I replied after some thought while the bartender was making our drink.

He didn't say anything but he had that look of a person that felt clearly insulted when I said that line about mom and dads which returned back to normal when I added in why.

"Well, I suppose you're right since we're orphans and all torn in a bloody mess but this is actually spending Christmas with a family if you think about it. Sure we might not have parents, blood related siblings, or even cousins but we've got our buddies that have been through with us thick and thin. A friendship forged in fire if you would say. As much as I would love to have a smoking wife, kids, and a family in general, you guys are probably the next best thing. I love what we do at downtimes, sitting around a fire place, eating rations, drinking insta-made cocktails, and sharing stories. It's like we had a second chance at having a childhood again. That is really what the spirit of Christmas is about, don't you think?" Bill said in reply to my long winded speech.

"Alright, your two cocktails are done, enjoy and happy pre-Christmas." The bartender said as he slid us our two mugs.

"Mmm, time to dig into something that isn't a powdered mix drink!" Bill said enthusiastically.

"Cheers man." I said in reply as I chinked his glass.

"Boy, you two must have been quite the loner as children. I can already guess which army you're from though. You're from the Kartels aren't you?" The bartender guessed as he saw through our disguises.

We stared at each other in long silence.

"Well, I'm not going to tell the army that you're here and get you killed. That's just a douche move if I did that. To me, any customer from any place who walks into a bar is just a regular person regardless of what they do. If you were real scum, I'd have you gone right now but…you two are literally nothing like what I hear about other Kartel soldiers." He added in to assure us that our day wasn't screwed over.

"Well uh…thanks for the holiday spirit then I guess." I replied as we downed our drinks. It was a delicious slice of heaven for a person who's been to hell for so long. Warmth seeped through our cold and desolate bodies. I guess you could say it was the best Christmas we've ever had for years as Kartel soldiers. After a while, we all rented an inn, minus Will because he was busy with his girl. What kind of busy was it? I probably have no idea but we all laid down and got some rest before snooping around the town for Christmas. Too bad I wasn't sleepy though so I went outside of town to see what I could get our prisoner for Christmas. I decided to get a electronic blanket based on her earlier wish. I brought it for a good 10k gold which is chump change compared to what some people have. Then I went back inside the inn, hid it in my suitcase, and went to sleep.

The next day, all four of us had loads of fun. We went and did this thing they called skiing where you slide down a hill on weird looking shoes. Bill slid off and bonked his head in the snow on his first try. I wasn't any better either since I got to the end and got stuck in a pretzel knot. Stanley was a natural at it though and made it down just fine for a rookie. Will took his girlfriend on a date here. I'd have to say, the kid has some good taste. Long legs, nice short-red hair, and I'll probably stop here before I turn into a pervert trying to describe beauty. All five of us had a stupid as heck snowball fight afterwards as we laughed the day away, clearly forgetting about the war and whatnot in favor of just having fun again.

At the end of our snowy fun, we all split up again. Will was going to have a fancy dinner and we teased him pretty hard about it, making his face go red even. Bill, Stanley, and I were going to go out to the town drinking and hamming it up. We took a local stop at a place with things they call video games. They were having a dance game competition there and there were sign ups. Bill and I signed up while Stanley was busy playing war simulation games. Our feet burnt through the pad(almost literally as they did catch on fire due to some malfunctions) as we danced against various competitors. At the final round he challenged me to a bet where the loser has to pay for cocktails. Of course I wasn't going to let him off easily so I busted my foot out in some unlimited dance works. We danced through ten songs before they finally declared it a tie and had a sudden death round. We were neck and neck again as our feet were numb as we kept trying to hit perfects. I slipped and got a great though while he did the whole thing flawlessly. Stanley was amazed at how our thighs didn't die out.

"Damn, close game." I said, panting.

"Yeah, you're…pretty good." Bill replied as sweat drenched his forehead.

We took the prize money and made our way to a random cocktail bar since Oasis was closed for today. We had a merry night of drinking before we went back to the inn and slept. I wish holidays were permanent but I guess they just really aren't.

The next day came and we all went back to headquarters. I took a detour to the tower again to drop off my little gift. She was eating crappy grits again when I went to her cell. Looked quite cold too.

"Hey there, how are you holding up?" I asked.

"Not exactly the greatest, it's been freezing, Christmas sucked, and yeah, nothing more to note." She replied.

"Well, here's something to fight off the cold weather." I said as I slid in the electric blanket.

"Thanks! I've been dying for one of these. I wish there was a way I could repay you for such generosity…" She fidgeted, twiddling her fingers as she thought of a way to repay me.

"No worries, it's the least I can do as a supposed "enemy" of yours. If the war ends and you get released while I'm still alive, I'd surely get executed by your vengeful hands anyways, right?" I said in reply.

"What? Killing you? No, I can't do that after all you've done. I'd send you to a nice and comfy prison cell and help you wait out the years just like you're helping me. When you get released, we can hang out and laugh like the pals we are…can't we?" She stated, a bit worried at my rather dark thoughts.

"Sorry for bugging you with such pessimism then, I can't really help but think these things." I said in reply, trying to comfort her.

"Well, goodbye then. Hope we can mess around another day. Before then though…what's your name?" She asked.

"I'm Charles Miller." I replied.

"Ah, alright. Well my name is Natasha. Nice to finally know who you are." She said.

"Likewise, adios." I said as I went downstairs and went back to the main base.

The holiday season was over, now it's time to get back to the battlefield again.

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Author notes: Probably one of the few brighter chapters out of this depressing story.


	11. Rondo Of Blood

**Entry 11: Rondo of Blood.**

* * *

We're fighting a rather losing battle as the next few months waned by. It seems like these Dungeon Fighters are more pesky than I thought. In fact, our unit's the only Anti-Dungeon Fighter one the Kartel has on hand for most missions. Our commander just doesn't seem to try and put some efforts into teaching our army some counter tactics. A common idea we usually utilize in this group is high priority targeting. Any crusader on the battlefield has to be shot in the head pronto. It weakens the rest of the group enough for us to take out with conventional firepower tactics. Slayers are easy to coax when they're Berserkers or Soul Benders but it's hard to beat a good Asura or Weapon master on the field. Fighters are just hard all around, with every type giving us a bit of a chink. The Gunner class is basically us only focused on one specific thing so that's easy to take care of. The Mage class usually intimidates people and gives them a one up in terms of killing us. Good thing we've killed children before so it doesn't matter to our unit. Their field covering attacks are a problem though. We've had reports of soldiers being burned, frozen, shocked, and what have you. It's a pain in the ass to fight a group of Dungeon Fighters but we manage. I think Bill's up to about thirty dungeon fighters killed, Stan's got a good forty under his belt, and Will has a solid 29. Me? I've got at least 35 downed in my last seasons of combat. We've just lost North Gate earlier too despite valiant efforts in trying to keep it. Today really just sucked though. Poor Will had to make the choice we all hate making. Before that, he was writing letters back and forth to his girlfriend on the opposite end of the battlefield. I really wished they got a happy ending but it didn't happen at all. It was an ordinary day on the battlefield, us trying to kill them, them trying to kill us. Dungeon Fighters didn't even matter as we killed quite a few anyways. The worst part was when we started getting annihilated by a Corsair who looked really, really familiar. Then I remembered it was Will's girlfriend and we braced for the worst of it. We were the enemy, she was our enemy. It was suppose to be as simple as that. Will rushed with his trusty knife and met her bladed kick head on, blocking it before both bounced back. They both had tears in their eyes as they met each other's gazes. Amidst the explosions and fire, they fought ferociously. Will had a few nicks on his chest and face while he managed to slash his girlfriend's belly and arm. It was a personal fight so me and the others didn't even want to butt in and end it. To us, it was his obligation to do it because it was his fight. Both bled profusely as they panted.

"Why? Why did it have to end like this?" Will yelled at her with tears coming down his face.

"I…I don't know why! You were such a good guy, sweeter than most of the men in this army! What are we fighting for?" She yelled back at him with as much anguish as she could muster.

The lovers charged at each other again, both now engaging in a fist fight of sorts amidst the blood and flames. It was almost like a entrancing dance as they moved around while embers flew. You can see the reluctance they had with trying to kill each other. In the end, they both got out a blade and she charged at William.

"William!" She yelled.

"Damn it, Naomi!" He yelled back.

They simultaneously stabbed each other in the chest. She fell first while he still stood. Both obviously saddened by the outcome.

"I'm leaving now. You won this fight, Will." She said, tenderly stroking his face with her bloodstained hand.

"We could've started a family, gotten away from this war, and lived happily…so why are you going away now?" He screamed, clutching her hand as tightly as he could in an effort to keep her life in this world.

We could only watch the lovers' quarrel reach it's miserable end. Stan wanted to cry. Bill had some sand in his eyes. I just…felt terrible about being in the war after this.

"Don't worry dear, We'll have a better life in the next world. I'll be waiting for you and we'll have fun like at Christmas…won't we?" She said, with more tears flowing down her face as life was fleeting.

"No, don't die now! We'll get a medic, I'll beat up the men who try to abuse you, and I'll make a plan to elope! Just don't leave me!" He begged.

"You try so hard to please someone, you know? All of those gifts, the date, and all of those letters. That's what I like about you though, you're a dedicated man. So…do me a favor and just try to live your life to the fullest after the war's over. This is probably the best gift you'll ever have from me so please…take it with love." She asked in reply to his begs.

Then she gave him a pendant, smiled, and died. Rain suddenly poured down after this too. I walk up to Will and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"..I..I didn't mean to stab her. It was...just instinct..." William choked out the words.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you son." He was silent on the trip back after we patched him up but the tears flowing down his face as he stared at the pendant was more than enough to convey his sadness. He played a song on his music device while staring at it.

*Insert Tale of Phantasia Ost: Be absentminded here*

It was fitting but sad. I'd wish Ghent would stop campaigning blasphemy about how glorious it is to fight against us. It isn't pretty, we're human as well, and it tears apart relationships that have nothing to do with said war. Now the damn kid's going to go through the years with PTSD if he lives. Sigh, some days I think the fighting is pointless but my hand's just on the trigger anyways. I wonder if anyone else in the other army has the same train of thought as me? Well then again, they're Dungeon Fighter reliant people now. I used to have a grain of respect when they won battles on their own. Now it's just completely gone as we keep hearing how Dungeon Fighters wiped out whole armies and companies with magic and bizarre powers. Maybe if Zeldine actually tried to train her soldiers? Who knows really, woman's probably a feminazi who only trains the female corps. That or she's a pathetic excuse for a commander. Oh well, guess the war's almost over no matter how you look at it. The question is how much longer do we have to fight?

* * *

Author note: Wish I could link videos onto this site...goddamit. Also was thinking of Castlevania when I came up with this title.


	12. Unfortunate Distractions

**Entry 12: Unfortunate Distractions.**

* * *

Another down time. We've struggled valiantly against pesky Dungeon Fighters. I think we've earned a reputation on the battlefield as "Dungeon Fighter Killers." We sure do live up to the moniker as best as we could. Will took some time to grieve. I don't blame him, it's hard to shoot someone you love, much less beat them to death in close quarters. Bill wrote a poem that sums up our lives in a nutshell from our miserable experiences.

War Is Hell

We've fallen to our knees

We've killed and we've killed

The word love passes us by

Bathed in blood

Soaked in bullets

We grew up as orphans, we grew into men

We breathed conflict like it was air

No matter what the losses were

Not even how we fared

We still kept fighting anyways

Our minds turned to steel

We may be viewed as demons

Maybe even inhuman

But this doesn't matter

We fight until there's an outcome

Winners carry on the fight

Losers finally roam free

Such is a life that we have to live.

Along with the price we paid

War is hell

Nothing ever goes well.

We're just trapped in an eternal cell

Nothing can quell us

Except being felled.

Poem certainly rang true for what we had to struggle against so far. The losses were great, the dragging was long. I don't know why I do this stuff anymore. We lose more and more men everyday to the forces of so called "Good." I just hold on to what I can and try to help the unit stay alive. It's inevitable that we may all die. If fate were merciful enough, maybe prisoners at best. We're all just broken men at this point in time, trying our best to cope. Some reports of people committing suicide around the camps have been flung around. Being honest, I don't blame them. They die, they're free. We live and we fight until we die or win completely. Hmm, I wonder what a Ghent soldier would have to say if he picked up this diary. Well…probably not happening anytime soon. Least they've got the best of the war. We get the hellhole since we're so called "Bad Guys" in their books. Guess I'm just raging pointlessly against something that can't be helped. When I look at the guys and what we've been through for the last two or so years, I have to say, we're all just broken and hopeless at this point. All the bloodbaths, innocents, and Dungeon Fighters amount to nothing as we see our comrades die day in and day out in a losing battle against fate. The Ghent Army is going to win, we already know it in our hearts. Why keep fighting? Just why don't we surrender and get it over with? I guess it's pride or maybe I've just taken a liking to taking lives. I don't know why I do anything anymore…


	13. Same Stuff, Different Technolgy

**Entry 13: Same Stuff, Different Technology**

* * *

Basically sums it up. We got a glimpse at Gizel's mundane experiments today. The gorillas and hounds were ugly as all hell, but they packed a nice load of power. Hounds could shoot rockets and blow themselves with c4 while the gorillas healed themselves with power generators. If this is what he's been doing with the money, it could've been better spent on training Anti-Dungeon Fighter soldiers or something. In fact, they have a new toy now that can wipe out five hundred Kartels in one go. Least we've developed a counter tactic of sniping the pilot or setting up land mines to blow it. Being a pragmatic war unit pays off to say the least. Will was still recovering from his PTSD as the battle went on so we had to try and snap him out of it. Today, we were in South Gate, one of our last few strongholds in Ghent before we were completely routed.

We got into a hard fight today. Basically, the goal was to defend the GT-6900 from damage from the Ghent army since it was designed to be an "Anti-Dungeon Fighter" machine. With that much armor, missiles, and guns on it, I'm pretty sure it'd win out, or so we hoped. So far, we were holding out quite fine against the Ghent army as the Dungeon Fighters split up as we hoped and went after the machine while we rendered the Ghent army incapable of supporting them by forcing the army into a stalemate.

Bill, Will, Stan, and I then got into a fight with a unit with the same amount of people as us except younger and a bit less traumatized. They were firing at us as we ducked and tried to fire back at them. I quickly stared face to face down my iron sights while hitting this one kid in the arm, in retaliation, I got shot in my knee. Bill got grazed on the shoulder, Stan got hit on his arm, and Will got capped on his leg. We manage to inflict the same injuries on the other three.

We continued our fight for a much more insanely long time. I managed to shoot the kid I was facing in the arms and leg shortly after while our bullets were flying around. Bill hit dead on with three shots to this one kid's belly. I think his name was Terres or something from what I spotted on the dog tag. Stan managed to hit some guy named Freisley in his arm and knee from what I heard from him after this battle. Will managed to shoot a guy who was about to aim a rocket launcher to blow us all up with a clean shot to his right knee, which made him drop the rocket. A random soldier got killed by the fifth guy but it didn't really matter to us too much.

The firefight dragged on until we got the order to retreat since the GT-6900 was about to be beat by Dungeon fighters even though we received another report of it actually nearly killing the fighters in retaliation by using the super defense mechanism. The four of us reluctantly retreated, a bit unsatisfied to settle such a hard fight. Those four really did look like us when we were a bit younger though. Can't say they're cowards compared to the mindless shrimps we fought so far. We went back to base and got patched up. We later heard that the GT-6900 was destroyed by a combination of Dungeon Fighter and Ghent army firepower. I'm pretty sure those five had a hand in it though. We went to sleep and got ready to carry on with another day of war.

* * *

Author's note: This is where you start reading The Life of a Ghent Soldier alongside this story. It isn't necessary per say but reading it does make for a complete experience since there are some things mentioned in that story that aren't explained here and vice versa.


	14. Cruel Decisions

**Entry 14: Cruel Decisions**.

* * *

By far, this was the worst day ever. We had about three bases left in Ghent basically. Dungeon Fighters and the army wore us down that much. That wasn't the worst part of today though. Today, I had to make the hardest choice a captain ever made. At the start of it, we were having another typical defense mission where we fought off some Dungeon Fighters and Ghent Army soldiers at midnight or so. Will was at a mental breaking point though throughout our days fighting. He just wanted to commit suicide as far as his eyes told.

Still, me, and the others tried to help him keep sanity and get through the war despite the bleakness of it. Our efforts went to vain though as this battle raged on. More Dungeon Fighters were pouring in and we were getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of them. No matter how much effort we put into killing these guys, more just keep coming anyways. It's like whatever battlefield God there was decided we should all die miserable deaths and go to hell.

We lost at least about 200 men here as we tried to hold onto this position as long as we could. Guess the clowns they decided to hire were dumber than we are as they got killed off even faster. Man, why couldn't we get decent backups. At least a mech, a tank, or something useful to help us defend this place, but no, we get goddang clowns. No wonder we keep losing battle after battle these days. Still we held out for a while. Then we had to retreat since they were swarming us and were about to overrun us.

Bill was moving back while fighting a Ranger, Grappler, and a Male striker all at once. The Striker and Grappler were about to leap into mid air to create a ground pound effect to knock him back for the Ranger to get an easy kill, but he managed to hit one in the head with his sub machine gun and one with his Thompson Contender in a normally ridiculous display of skill. I was pinned down by a Brawler who was about to gut me like a fish while her buddy was cocking her gun ready to end my life, but I kicked the Brawler off and shot the Female Ranger with my trusty M4. Stan finished off the Brawler and killed a Crusader before we continued retreating. We kept killing Dungeon Fighters and Ghent Army folks despite the insane amount we were facing. That's why we were Dungeon Fighter Killers after all. We aren't idiots like the regular Kartel soldiers as I've stated before. After all, We've grown to be a hardened, reliable, and experienced squad when it comes to fighting.

After a while in the battle though, Will snapped from all the stress. The worst case scenario had happened. He literally snapped after being so long on the battlefield. He went insane and started firing on our men as well as the other army's men trying to kill as many as possible in order to avenge the one he had to kill due to war. He didn't even care that he was shooting at his squad mates anymore. Casualties ran even higher as we saw him run around killing everyone while trying to dodge bullets. It was one heck of a mess as we not only tried to focus on the enemy but we were trying desperately to get Will under control. It didn't even matter if it was a Dungeon Fighter, Will dispatched those too.

The boiling point was when he took out his knife and started maniacally slashing and killing pretty much anything in his way. He was a monster moving at rather high speeds trying to slit necks and spill blood all over the place. I had to admit it to myself, Will was dead. Replaced by a monster fueled by pure grief and desire to find salvation by killing. I didn't want to believe it. This was Will, the guy who bailed us out on so many missions with his CQC skills, the rifle marksman that always had our back, the quiet kid with a good heart, and much more. It was hard to accept reality as the way it was right now.

He charged at Bill, intending to stab his heart. Bill parried and twisted his arm which made Will jump back a bit. "Damn it guys, do something or we're all dead meat!" He yelled as he was firing his Calico at incoming enemies. Stan didn't know what to do as his hands were shaking just trying to aim for Will's head. He couldn't bring himself to end it even though he was trained as a coldhearted sniper. My hands were shaking too as I couldn't get out my pistol and end it.

I took a deep breath though and despite the grief that ran though my mind and I did it. I took out my pistol, Bill countered another blow and I used it as an opportunity. I aimed at Will's head and instinctively squeezed the trigger. A bullet flew through the air towards its target. It was like watching in slow motion as I thought back to our downtimes, dinners, lunches, and fights as a squad. It hurt knowing that I had to end the life of a friend. The bullet went through Will's head cleanly as he fell staring at us with blank eyes. I felt nauseated after the action and went to barf on the ground for a short period.

As the leader, I had to make the best choices to ensure our survival, but I never figured it'd come to this. Suddenly I find myself loathing the thing we did on Christmas. If Will didn't fall in love, he could've stayed sane and we'd fight to the end as a squad just like the war movies. That was the ending I yearned for. I never wanted this outcome where I'd have to end the life of a great pal.

We retreated and I went back to camp, thinking harshly about what I just did. I wanted to cry, I really did but I had barely any tears left to shed. A single tear flew down my face though as I stared at the squad picture of Bill, Will, Zeke, Stan, and I smiling with our thumbs up. Why did war have to be so cruel? No matter how I tried to justify it with things like "Well, he's off to a better life now." or "At least he's finally reunited with his girl." I just couldn't bring myself to accept this event as a solution.

Bill and Stan were greatly upset as we attended his funeral and yet they could tell it from my face how bad I felt and decided not to blame me for my actions. Sacrificing one to save ten, ten to save one hundred, or one hundred to save a thousand was easy in concept but hard to pull when faced with someone you know. I sacrificed Will for a bunch of doomed strangers so we could fight another day. I look up into the sky in anguish as I thought, _How much more can I lose before I end up the same too_?

* * *

Author's note: Grandma died on the Sunday I made this. It was originally less depressing but with her death, I guess I decided to make it even worse than what I planned.


	15. Being Absentminded

**Entry 15: Being Absentminded**

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A few days after the funeral, I got promoted to the rank of captain but it just didn't feel right. Surely there should've been a way to save Will, but…I can't dwell on it too much, it would bring me back to miserable events that happened a few years ago. I did the same thing I did to Will on one of my friends back then except it was more of a mercy kill rather than sacrifice.

I sat down in my tent, thinking back to the battle that got us the gates and forests of Ghent. It was a massive battle like no other. We amassed the best people we had in preparation for this climatic showdown at the valley. There were large chunks of the Ghent army there too, in fact it was the best they had. We had tanks, cannons, artillery, and what have you while they had the same thing. No Dungeon Fighters, no magic healing wizardry, and anything else we have these days. Nope, all there was in that battle was brute force and tactics. People died when they were killed and that's how it should've been. No revivals, fancy shields, healing magic, or ridiculous endurance gimmicks.

Before that battle happened, Michael, Jack, Mark, Frankie, and I had a bit of a cocktail party. Spirits were high and we were determined to crush the Ghent army once and for all in this showdown. Michael was a good guy, at about the age of 29. He was large, burly, but had a intellectual side to him as well. Jack was a 30 year old geek of sorts always blabbering about random space comics and movies he watched along with how someday he'll become a scientist and recreate these things. Frankie was our joker of sorts and was 25. He used to make us laugh ourselves so bad I think Mark wet himself at one point. Mark was a guy at the age of 35 with rather optimistic goals despite our sack of a situation. He wanted to get a good wife, start a family, and live a happy life after the war.

We all chatted throughout the night about how we would send those Ghent Army people packing and how we'd finally fulfill a void that they entitled us to. We also admired how much of a good opponent those guys were, filled with determination to stop us from invading unlike these pathetic shells of a man we fight today who rely solely on Dungeon Fighters to do their job for them. It's like being in elementary school (from what I heard) where teachers thought for the kids. The kids are the Ghent Army and the teachers are Dungeon Fighters. I had dreams of glory back then too. Ones of fame, happiness, and finding a worth of self to compensate for my rough childhood. I wanted to prove my family wrong by taking over the land they cherished and bragging about it. Childish, I know but that was the goal back then.

Then the time for battle finally came as we were driven to the large plains where bombardments of exploding shells blew up around us. A few APCs of ours were blown to bits but we marched forwards. We got out of our vehicle and started the assault. I saw a man's head and I instantly shot at it with my M4. He fell down shortly after. Gunfire noise escalated as we started landing more troops and tanks on this field. I watched as some soldiers died before even getting out of their vehicles. We killed some on their side too but had a hard time advancing due to how much bombardments we had to deal with. We ran in and out of the man made craters, using it for cover and firing at our opponents.

I charged with my squad as we tried to run for cover. We were being bombarded and Jack was the first one to fall. He just got blown to pieces right in front of us. "Jack!" I yelled as I ran for cover. There was no time to grieve, we had to continue the fight. The Kartels were slowly gaining the upper hand that battle. We made way and charged more, but then Michael got shot in the head abruptly as we were finally pushing back the Ghent defense. I was watching all my friends die right in front of me.

We were almost done by the time we pushed them back, but then Mark got shot through the chest and died too. The only person left was Frankie, but just as we drove them back, a rocket flew towards us. I managed to dodge it but Frankie got half of his body blown off. I shot the guy who fired the rocket in cold blood. Then I looked in horror as he was dying of blood loss.

"Damn, I guess this is the end isn't it, Charles?" He asked as he looked up to me.

"I can't sugar coat this Frankie, it's the end of the line." I replied sadly.

"The pain, it hurts…" He groaned as his life faded away.

"Charles…do me a favor and just end my suffering." He begged while groaning.

I took out my pistol, cocked it, and aimed at his head.

"It was all just a dream…right, Charles?" He asked in his final moments

"Yeah…just a dream, Frankie." I replied as I squeezed the trigger.

After that, I really just stopped caring about the war until I was placed in the new unit. Now I'm losing them the same way I lost my four buddies. I guess the end is the end no matter what we try.

* * *

Author's note: Slight homage to Cowboy Bebop and Saving Private Ryan here.


	16. Preparations for the Final Hunt

**Entry 16: Preparations for the Final Hunt.**

* * *

We knew the day was coming where we would have to defend our supplies outpost. We've luckily been getting help from the Iron Scale pirates in shipping our supplies to our battered lines. Dungeon Fighters reduce our army count every passing day along with those spineless Ghent Army men. I practiced aiming everyday along with Bill and Stan before the climatic battle at our supply base. We wanted to kill every Dungeon Fighter and army people we could to avenge Will and what he had to go through. Feelings of vengeance ran high between the three of us. Even I wanted to crush as many of those bastards as I could before I fell in battle. That's how war works when your friends or close ones die.

Our destiny may be defeat, our cause pointless, and the things we've been fighting for may have been meaningless, but fighting is the only fate we have left. There's no rainbows, just bullets and bombs. It doesn't how matter how many mechs we destroy, how many lives we take, and how we do it. The end's coming and we're going down with dignity fighting like real men should fight. Guns, bullets, close quarters, and explosives. No magic, no revival, and nothing else. I don't care if they send 20 models of Melvin's stupid mechs, I'll blow them all up, blow up the soldiers accompanying the pilot, and kill the blasted Dungeon Fighters before I can say I surrender.

Before we had to go down like that, the three of us decide to have one more humane moment and decide to hang out in Ghent once more. We went to Oasis again and Tori was surprised that we were back.

"What are you three doing here?" He asked

"We're going to need one heck of a good glass to celebrate the end that's approaching." I replied.

Tori knew what we meant. He knew we were going on a suicidal and one sided final showdown with the Ghent Army before the Kartels went down for good. We were salty dogs of war. Friendships forged in blood and fire. What better way to go down than to fight it out gloriously? We might not be worshipped as heroes, we might be regarded as mass murderers, but Ghent will know that we fought them valiantly to the very end despite their numerous advantages. That's what being a real warrior and a real man is all about after all, for us.

"Ah, I see. I know what you guys want." He said.

He made three Salty Dogs and gave them to us to drink at the counter. We discussed our last regrets before we go off to our showdown.

"Damn, I'm going to miss not being able to sit down, eat rations, and joke anymore." Bill said.

"I'll miss our screw around time in Ghent. It brought tragedy but it was fun at the same time. That was the best Christmas I ever had. No family could replicate what we did that night captain." Stan replied.

"I'm going to miss you guys. We might have had rough starts, questionable actions, and other rough scrapes but we had a large amount of fun. We laughed, we mourned, and we did practically a lot of other stuff together. Sure it might not replace the times I had with my four other friends that I lost during this war but still, it's been fun times and nothing can replace it." I said.

"Damn, Charles, I'll miss you too man. Your charismatic leadership, jokester side, and extreme dancing skills made our time great. Oh and everyone else, since Will and Zeke were some good kids in the wrong place. If we all were normal civilians, this surely could've ended a whole lot better. Still though, I like you guys because you made me feel human after a long amount of killing." Bill replied back.

"Yeah, Capt, I'm going to agree with what Bill said. You were like that dad I wish I had, Capt. You gave me advice, friends, and a humane side as well. Darn, I wish it didn't have to end like this and we could go live as great friends in a normal-ish society of sorts." Stan said while tearing up.

"Cheers to our final hurrah." I said as I raised my glass.

"Cheers." Bill replied as he clinked his glass with mine.

"Cheers, Capt." Stan said as he joined in too.

Afterwards, Bill and I decided to go to the video game shop and have one last dance competition before we went off to our doom. We danced through ten songs once again. We burn ourselves as we tried to beat each other. A flurry of foot stomps were heard as we were hitting perfects all over the place.

"Damn, this is just like last time!" I yelled as I danced to the beat some more, moving my feet as fast as I could despite extremely burning my thighs.

"Hah! Then that means I'll win once again!" Bill yelled as he moved his feet in a fast pace also.

"Not if I have something to say about this!" I yelled as I moved my feet even faster. We ended up getting a tie again, both our scores being 660000.

"Alright folks, this is going to get hot as this is the final dance round! Which one of our competitors will win? Are you ready guys?" The announcer yelled as the crowd cheered.

"LETS FUCKING DO THIS!" We both yelled.

The final song was something ironic. The lyrics were basically the opposite of the end we were going for.

*Insert Jamiroquai Don't give hate a chance here*

Bill and I had a furious dance off just when the song started. Our feet were pretty bruised and tired at this point but I wanted to beat him this time. Of course, he wanted to keep his title too so we danced toe to toe, head to head. I think I nearly smashed the glass at one point from rapidly stomping so much to get perfects. Bill almost did also. We were neck and neck just like Christmas day. One of us was going to be worn out this time and fall from exhaustion but we poured determination into our dying legs as we danced more and more. The five minutes seemed like an hour as the numerous of arrows was blitzing to the screen since we played this on extreme mode.

"Grrr, Bill!" I yelled as I furiously danced.

"Gahhh, Charles!" He yelled back as he tried to outdo me once more.

We were on the final minute of the song and Bill and I wanted to collapse.

"It's the last minute! The competitors are neck and neck! Who will win this epic battle of colossal proportions!" The announcer yelled as the crowd was looking intently. Heck, there was a betting pool on who would win, me or Bill.

"!" I yelled as I pushed my legs beyond the limits of a normal man to try and beat Bill."

"It's not over yet, Charles!" He yelled as he pushed his feet beyond the limit too.

There was only one second on the clock left as we danced away.

"!" We both yelled in agony as we did our final moves.

The result screen came up. Bill had 699999 points and I had 700000. I won by one point somehow.

"The winner is…Charles Miller!" The announcer yelled as the crowd started cheering "Miller! Miller! Miller!" excitedly.

"Darn, Charles, you beat me fair and square." Bill admitted while panting.

"It was a darn good fight buddy, a darn good fight." I replied, with sweat flowing down my head by the bucket full.

"Darn, you two old men sure duke it out quite hard despite your age, all over a dance game too!" Stan said, completely amazed at how close our scores were.

We had a fun dinner that night before heading back to the supply camp. I've lived a good life up till this point. Sorrow might ruin it, but one can't deny how fun it was being with these guys. It was the best send off we'll ever have. I went to the tower for another visit with the princess, it's been quite a long time since I've seen her so I wanted to see how she was holding up. Seems she was quite brighter than last time since Ghent was winning the war. It would mean that she would be going home soon.

"Hey, Charles, how are things going?" She asked.

"Miserable and bitter, I killed my own squad mate to prevent casualties." I replied.

"Oh dang, I'm sorry for your loss." She replied.

"Eh, the war's almost over, I've got barely anything left to live for, and death's knocking on my door everyday I fight." I replied back to her.

"What? You can't be serious! You can't just go out there and get yourself killed! You're practically the first friend I've made outside of the palace! Sure our circumstances really suck but…why do you have to end it this way?" She asked, tearing up a bit.

"I've been an orphan, I've lost six friends as it is to this war, and I've got no purpose left other than going down fighting. I'll be honest, I'll miss the quality we spent together not as a soldier and a princess but as real friends. Sure you're a prisoner to others, but to me you're a friendly, warm, and vibrant person with a good reason to live in this world. As for me, I'm a warrior on the losing side, a long term survivor of horror, and a man. I've gotta die fighting. It's the only death that befits me." I replied, trying hard to hold back a single tear.

"Why can't you just surrender? Sure they might be real douches when you get thrown in prison, but once I'm back, I'll make sure you survive the ordeal and get out. Then we'll have fun together just like what we do here! You're a humane person Charles, don't waste your life when you've got so much more to do!" She yelled at me with degrees of anguish.

"The old generation can't build a new era, princess. Once you're free, it's up to you young folks to build a better era than what we have now. As for me, I'm part of an old generation that needs to go. A generation of struggle, unfair strife, and pointless fighting. You people, however, can change the future to avert all of this. Make sure that orphans like me aren't born nor have sexism exist. Sure it might not be utopia as that's impossible but I hope bright people like you bring some kind of change to avert what happened to people like me. I know I'm going down in history as a villain who opposed you guys and who got slain by good guys but, if I had a last wish in this world, it's this. I'll help escape if needed be, but don't waste tears on the enemy, princess. You've got happiness and freedom up ahead to waste tears. I'm just another actor playing out a written script." I replied once more.

She couldn't speak. I knew she was upset inside so I said my goodbyes and left. I didn't want to say goodbye to a warm-hearted friend like that either. Sadly, as I said earlier, I have to go, she has to live, and nothing more. When I die, at least I'm hoping there's a future where monsters like me won't be created. As for me, there's just no other way, but before then, I might as well help grant her last wish and help her escape before I go out to my finale. Ghent won't realize that I made rescuing the princess easier, but hey, if it's my last deed as a human then it'll have to do.

I realize I'll go to hell for all of the lives I've taken with my hands. I probably killed thousands or twice as much as that. I've shot civilians, I've kidnapped a princess and unwittingly had her doomed to months of crapsack living, and I killed two of my friends with my own hands. What better way to go to hell though than to fight to my death and end up there? Guess I'll write a poem to describe my life to conclude this little segment.

My life is made of bullets.

My soul is of bullets. My Body is of powder.

I have killed countless people.

Not once have I regretted

Not once have I cared

I was always fighting, intoxicated with blood on the field of bullets with trigger happy fantasies.

And thus the generation I lived in has no meaning.

Certainly, my body was made for murder.

I think to the knight in red who fought for his entire life and afterlife to save people and yet it amounted to nothing. I'm doing the opposite, I've fought for my entire life just to kill people but even I accomplished nothing worth saying either. I guess they're right in that you're like the people you admire and read about. Heh, a befitting end for such a man as me. I can't die standing up like Cu Chulainn but…I'll die fighting to the bitter end.

* * *

Author's note: Shout outs to Fate Stay Night here. Oh, that and Char Aznable from Gundam. As you can tell from reading the other chapters, I do enjoy my dose of Nasuverse.


	17. Salty Dogs

**Entry 17: Salty Dogs**

* * *

Well, this was the day where we either lost everything or pushed them back. I had a feeling that they would beat us per usual. Despite that, Bill, Stan, and I got ready for one more climatic battle before the end of this war could be reached. It was like watching a movie and getting to the good parts before the resolution. I honed my CQC skills to far beyond average, about on par with Will's before this mission started. It was going to be another big battle from what I can tell with all the cannons, rockets, mutated creatures, and what have you guarding the Camp. We were suppose to hold down the fort until they gave up and retreated which would give us breathing space to plan our counter attack. Me and the others however just wanted to fight to the death. After all, that was our wish.

The first shots rang off on the front lines as Dungeon Fighters and Ghent Army men started pouring in by the dozens. We were firing everything we had at them whether it was cannons, bullets, or explosives. Our front line machine gunners managed to mow down quite a hefty sum of these people and it seemed like we would manage to hold the lines. Bill and I were just shooting at them with our M4s, hitting critical points all over and killed many on our first hour. Stan was just picking off heads like watermelons, managing to top his record of fifty. He was quite the monster to behold as he killed at least seventy on the first round of a long battle to come. We had nothing to lose, we already lost everything as it is. Humanity, friends, the warm feeling of love, and what have you. Therefore, we fought like no tomorrow. We eventually got swarmed after an hour and thirty minutes or so before we retreated. Casualties ran high on our side too as talented machine gunners, rifle men, and snipers were picked off by quantum bombs, Elementalist attacks, acid rain, and what have you. Our casualties amounted to a good three hundred after that first wave. Artillery was blown too as several valuable cannons were put out of commission in the ensuing fight.

The second round started as we retreated back to the ammo barracks. We had a large urban fight right inside of the room. We fired back at them as they fired back at us while trying to dodge a loony clown's bomb attacks. This guy was clearly high or something to try and kill the enemy by spinning and tossing bombs like that. This skirmish was a bit shorter as it only lasted thirty minutes long. Bill and I killed some more of the opposing force while Stan was still putting dents in their forces by picking them off. It was a heated battle, but we were pushed back again once they gained momentum and started denting our forces as well.

As we were on the run, Stan was holding it out with a few injuries and whatnot while trying to fight off our pursuers with his sub machinegun. For the most part, he almost made it to the third round but was shot in the head by a guy named Edward I think after a small sniper duel. Regrettably, that's the third member of our squad that we've lost and I have a bad feeling that I was going to be the only survivor after this battle. Bill and I kept running despite our grieving as we didn't really have the time to mourn our dead comrade. It was simple as that, he died covering our asses to fight another day. The forces were about to catch up to us as we went on an on-the-run battle from them. Then we managed to escape to the last room where Bill just stood there. He was stoic and loaded his guns as if to go down fighting here too. I didn't really want to lose another friend so I tried to convince him to retreat with us. It might be sentimental but I'm still trying to hold on to my last threads of humanity before the war took all of it away.

"Hey, Bill, aren't ya coming? I know that Stan just died and all but…"

"No, Charles, this journey ends here for me. You guys have to live and see the final conflict of the war. As for me, this is the final stage of my acted script. Now go!" He answered.

"We can't afford to lose you, Bill! You're one of the best we've got. Plus, you're my buddy so if you're fighting a last stand too, then so shall I!" I replied back.

"Charles, that princess is clearly waiting for you to come back and do her one last favor before you go. I've talked to her before, I know you're the guy who's been helping her survive and all so I can't let you die before you fulfill her final wish." He said, loading his gun.

"Damn it, fine, have it your way but do me a favor though Bill." I said.

"What is it, Charles?" He asked.

"Lick as many of these "Heroes" before you go out of this world. This can't end with a whimper or a tabloid story of Ghent won and the war seems nearly at an end with everyone sweeping our bases. No, you've got to end this with a god damn bang. That's my final order to you as your captain." I replied once more.

"Will do boss." He said, turning to face the incoming enemies.

I led our troops out without looking back. I just lost everyone I cared about in this war right in the blink of an eye, twice too. It sucks but I guess I have one last duty at the final battle. I will cripple their army so hard by myself that my name's going down their history book as one of the worst Kartel members they've ever fought. I don't care if they send a hundred mechs or nine thousand soldiers. By the time I'm done with them, they'll have at least a third gone. That's the fate I resigned myself to after the battle, but I've got one last task at hand to accomplish.

* * *

Author's note: Cut off Bill's last stand here. Go read The Life of a Ghent soldier to see how it played out since this journal's mostly first person and since Charles wasn't around to see it I can't exactly write it.


	18. Farewell

**Entry 18: Farewell**

* * *

Well, everyone's gone. I've got only one more job to do but before I do that, I'm going to write one final goodbye in this journal before I leave off to hand this and set a grand scheme in motion.

To Bill: Damn, you were a good drinking buddy, reading buddy, and war buddy. Rest easy my friend as I'll be knocking on your doorway very soon. Heaven or hell, we'll have some fun again either way.

To Stan: You fought your hardest until the end. Since day one of our squad to now you've fought with conviction while still being an off screen pervert and what have you. Still though, you were always loyal to the mission and for that, I'm proud to be your captain. Surely we'll meet again very soon in the afterlife.

To Will: You poor guy, I apologize for having to do what I did back there. There was no justification to killing a man such as you. I apologize for you having to be pitted against your future wife also. She was a beautiful woman and I'm sure the both of you should be together in a heaven of sorts. As for me, you can probably look down at me at where I should be going at this point.

To Zeke: You died on the kidnapping, you raped women, and other mundane stuff but at least you were free from suffering what we suffer now. Rest easy, your captain's coming home.

To Natasha: Yes, I'm referring to you with your real name. Even though the circumstances were quite bad, I never had any hostile feelings towards you. We laughed together, read together, and you gave me a slice of what it's like to actually be loved by someone. Not the romantic kind but the "I care about you" kind. Thanks for caring for me despite how I was on the opposite side. At least you can understand what war does to people first hand and hopefully work to prevent monsters like me from being made into this world. If I was a bit younger, you would've been the perfect woman honestly but alas, it's too late. I'm sure in a different life or universe, we were great friends. Hope you remember the good times we've shared despite what you endured. After all, I don't want to be forgotten when you write some book about how you suffered under the Kartels.

To future viewers of this journal: Yes, I know more than one person will read this. Call me a monster, call me an idiot, and whatever else you want. I just hope you learn how bad war truly is and why you folks should work towards something to make less of these things happen. Oh right, there's a picture of me and my squad on the very last page of this journal.

This was the story of a man who had ideals, lost ideals, and lost everything else on the blood-soaked playground they called war.

That's all I've got to say, this truly is the end of this journal.

Farewell.

-Captain Charles Miller, birth Circa April 29,1972, death Circa April 5,2012.

* * *

Author's note: End of the personal entries of the journal. Next chapter two chapters tell the story from a third person perspective. Many shout-outs imminent next chapter though.


	19. A Captain's Final Twlight

**Chapter 19: A Captain's Final Twilight.**

* * *

The lone captain strolls over to the tower one last time. He places a cardboard box outside of the tower like trash while strolling in with keys and fake C4s. What was he planning? No one but him knew. He went to the prison cell of his friend one last time and handed her a small journal while opening the door. She was shocked and didn't know what to expect but followed his orders as they rushed down stairs.

"What are you doing, Charles?" She asked.

"I'm granting your last wish, silly. After all, this aught to make it easier for your army to rescue you once the battle is done." The man replied.

"Do you really have to go?" She asked.

"Yeah, my time on this place is up. You, however, still have a life." He replied.

She unexpectedly grappled him into a bear hug, tightly squeezing her friend before he went off to his final doom. She really didn't want him to go after all. He then strapped the false c4s on her while hiding her in a large cardboard box designed to look like trash. He slid her a radio shortly after.

"Alright, this is one my radios. If someone from the Ghent army calls you on this, tell them where you are so you can go home. Of course you want to go home as fast as possible so I'm going to trigger these false C4s' timer. It isn't really explosive, I just want to give them an incentive for ending it as fast as they can. That's all I can do for you now." He explained.

"You've done a lot for me this past year. I know you are suppose to be a bad guy and all, Charles, but really, to me you're a friend and somewhat of a hero." She replied back, tearing up at the prospect of seeing her first friend she made outside of the palace die.

"Just remember this, I gave my life, not for honor but for you." He said before he hopped on his motorcycle to ride off to the final sunset of his war torn life.

"Whatever you do Charles, even if you don't come back at least go out with that warm smile you usually give me!" She said as a last request while tearing up.

"Well then, I'll see you in another life, Natasha." He said one last time as he leapt on his motorcycle and headed off towards the final fight of the war. The Kartels had to help Gizel retreat at all costs since if he died, there wouldn't be a chance of a comeback. This was the final battle of all battles. One side must lose and one must win. Are there really winners in this war? Sure the written script is that Ghent are the good guys but even they lose things in the blood soaked fields.

As he drove, a theme played in his head. One of imminent doom as one sacrifices his chance at a happy ending for another's happy ending.

*Insert Mega Man Zero 4's Falling Down theme here*

All Charles could think of at this point was of his friends that he lost throughout the war. They were brave fellows who fought their hardest. Every living day he had with them was the best one he ever had. Still though, he had one more feud to settle. His sisters were there, eagerly waiting to end his life. The same sisters that had him kicked out of Ghent into a long spiral of war. It was time to get the score settled before he went off into the sunset. He would kill his sisters and make his parents, wherever they are, regret their decision to off him from their family. That was the main goal of this battle. He wanted the Ghent army to win but not without one last showdown. He would kill at least three hundred of these men before his life was extinguished.

Then he thought to his times with the princess. Whether he liked it or not, she brought a new dimension into his bitter life. Her radiant face always seemed to make him smile. They both had the best times together as friends. Reading mythological stories about heroes, laughing about their fates, worrying about each other, and many other things. Yet she was still sad about being far from her homeland despite this. Sick of grimy food and torture as she waited for a savior to come. He knew he wasn't the savior she was thinking of but if he had one last good deed to do before death, it might have as well be giving his friend a chance to live a life that he'd only wish he had and teaching her things she should avoid doing as a ruler with his first hand accounts of a crapsack world.

Charles then arrived at the camp before the battle started. He armed himself with his trusty M4, rocket launchers with several rounds for the mechs, a Calico sub machinegun in memory of Bill, and lastly a knife just in case. He knew he would be the last guy they faced in his squad. After all, they killed everyone else but him. He also had the feeling that Edward Sarge would be there. The prospect of a one on one showdown with complete opposites slightly cheered him up despite the grim circumstances. The old generation verses the new one. What more could a man reaching the end of his age ask for?

The battle erupted soon with the first gun shots fired at the entrance. Bombs, rockets, and gunfire were going off like fireworks. Charles was commanding a make-shift squad effectively enough that they ended up with two hundred killed by the first wave of the battle. He himself killed at least fifty by the end of this deadly rondo. Soon, more Ghent Army men poured in and they retreated back to the third room. The Kartels were taking a beating with at least three hundred lost on the first hour so far.

The Ghent Army and Dungeon Fighters fought through clowns and the highly agile Maron. The clowns didn't do much to them, but Maron managed to kill off at least twenty before he was unceremoniously killed off by a Sergeant with a sniper. Soon the Ghent Army caught up with the Kartels and engaged them in another huge casualty firefight. Charles spotted one of his sisters in the crowd. He thought to himself, _There's the jackass I was looking for, time to kiss goodbye, Megan. Consider this a farewell present from me to you for ruining my life!, _as he blew her brains out with a clean shot from his trusty M4. The fight continued on as Ghent started to bring out their models of mass produced GSKs to wreck havoc on the Kartel army. This time though, soldiers were ready as they stunned it with some land mines before blowing the pilots out with well placed rocket shots. Charles managed to kill seventy more men after killing off his sister. Troops were about to overwhelm his position but he whacked a charging Ghent soldier with his M4, killed him, got out his Calico and started firing into the crowd with both guns on automatic. Normal soldiers would have their arms shattered doing this but Charles handled it like it was nothing.

The casualties of the second round amounted even higher, Kartels lost four hundred, Ghent lost at least three hundred and rather worrying amounts of Dungeon Fighters. The battle was reaching an end as Dungeon Fighters and Ghent Army forces swarmed the Kartels and pushed them back into one more room. Defeat was inevitable, body counts ran high, and everyone retreated under Charles's orders while he stayed behind for one last thing.

The Ghent Army and Dungeon Fighters surrounded him. Four mechs were facing him. He was outnumbered and outgunned badly enough that one of the commanders stepped up and offered him a chance to live. It was another of his sisters, Lisa, who also taunted him while doing this.

"Ah, Charles, you pathetic shell of a man. Mom and Dad never cared about you when they dumped you in that wasteland. You should've died there like the miserable rat you are. Now surrender here and maybe we'll let you live the rest of your life as a rat while we throw your name down in the history books as a pathetic coward who didn't retreat with his pack of shit." She taunted.

The lone captain thinks back to the red knight who never gave up. A song then plays in his head and fills him with more determination than ever.

*Insert Unlimited Blade Works theme from Battle Moon War here*

"I am the Trigger of my gun. Bullets are my body and powder is my blood. I have killed over a thousand people. Unknown to heroes nor known to Villains. I have withstood great loss to fight many battles. Yet these hands will never know happiness. So as I pray, Unlimited Bullet Works!" He replied as he got his assault rifle and Calico ready, he took out a remote shortly after and pressed it.

"Now then Army of Ghent and Dungeon Fighters, your princess has live bombs strapped to her. You've got fifteen minutes to beat me, grab my radio, and end this play. Before that, I have to ask, "Heroes of Ghent, do you have enough ammo?" He said as he charged towards his enemies for the last time, killing off Lisa instantly with a twirl of his Calico.

The lone captain then fired at more men and started to kill them off by the twenties. He was even worse than facing Bill. The man was a seemingly unstoppable Juggernaut with the most accurate auto firing weapon aim ever. Everyone in the opposing side threw everything they had at him, trying to end it even faster than when they fought Bill. Even the mechs didn't stand much of a chance as he shot the pilots out before they could cover the field with missiles. Truly, this was a blazing twilight of his last day being alive. He even managed to kill his third sister, Teresa, who was the one that bullied him when he was younger. His revenge was fulfilled and yet his fight wasn't over as he killed even more. The rampage amounted to three hundred and fifty dead. All from the will of a single man.

Still though, he took damage and was bleeding all over the soil as he fought the army. At last, he managed to provoke someone into charging at him by killing his last friend. That person was a man named Edward Sarge. He ran out of bullets to kill with so he decided to parry Edward's knife lunge and tripped him, making Ed fall backwards onto the ground.

"Ah, so it's down to just you and me, kid." He said.

"You killed my last remaining friend, you're going to pay for this!" He yelled while lunging at him once more.

"Hah! That's the spirit, kid! But you only have seven minutes left. Now lets see if the new generation really does surpass the old generation!" He replied as he parried the blow once more before getting out his knife. Both leapt back and went into a CQC stance. The Ghent Army could only watch the final duel. One life would end here and the other one would go on.

*Insert Metal Gear Solid 3's Snake Eater(vocal) theme here*

Ed managed to punch Charles in the gut and the face, knocking him on the floor. Charles retaliated with a quick rebound, kicking Ed off of him and getting back on his feet once more. Both dogged it out, punching, kicking, and slashing at each other numerous of times. Charles kicked Ed in the gut again and knocked him on the floor. He started to unleash a barrage of punches on Ed's face until he got kicked off with a strong kick knocking him off. It amazed the crowd how much more one man can take from being shot up so much and being beaten up so badly.

Ed then retaliated by rolling to dodge his next stab, tripping him, and unleashing his own flurry of punches at Charles. Charles then slashed both of Ed's arms and got up again. He went in for a grapple but Ed slashed his arms as well. Charles was in the mere inches of his life when he was fighting with Ed for what seemed like an hour.

It came down to the final blow, Ed attempted to hit Charles with a strong punch but Charles parried and struck his neck hard, stunning him. Truly, he was a living embodiment of determination to be able to do that despite being severely weakened by insane blood loss. He had his knife inches near Ed's heart.

"Heh, it was a good fight, kid. Better luck next time. Don't feel too bad, you survived to give me a beating. Maybe we'll fight again in the next life." He said as he seemingly went in for the kill but dropped on the floor instead, gasping. He crouched on one leg after catching his breath. A few more seconds and he would've killed Ed, but why didn't he do it? No one at the battle really knows.

"You guys have won, I've delayed you long enough as it is. Now go rescue your princess and take your rewards, Heroes of Ghent." He said with the amount of energy he had left.

Before he died, he whispered to Ed, "Make sure you guys take good care of my friend, alright?"

Ed didn't know who his friend was but could probably guess who he meant by him knowing the location of the princess.

"Bang." He said finally as he died kneeling and smiling on his blade. A proud warrior's death. Despite being a villain, this was what he wanted, and that was what he got in the end.

* * *

Author's Note: God, this chapter's reference overdosed. Cowboy Bebop, Metal Gear Solid 3's final boss fight, Garcher, and Zero. Best last stand I could come up with though I'll have to say.


	20. Epilogue

**Chapter 20: Epilogue**

* * *

The war against the Kartels was soon over, the Princess finally was brought home, and Dungeon Fighters and Ghent Army people were hailed as heroes. Most of the Kartels were written down as evil despicable people by most of the masses per usual. No one ever really saw the Kartel side of the story except for the Princess. With lessons taken from Charles's miserable life after reading his story, the Princess tirelessly worked to curb sexism and outlawed throwing children into the wasteland. All of this to honor her friend's last wishes.

She also read Edward's side of the story and decided to combine both sad stories into a history novel of sorts. Both stories to be read side by side for people to learn and try not to repeat mistakes from the past. After all, one bad thing leads to another and that's how the whole Kartel verses Ghent business was started in the first place. Countless lives ruined by callous decisions. She knew that it wouldn't stop everyone from repeating the same idiocies, but as long as it taught a fine lesson that war wasn't glamorous, maybe they would not have another mess like this. She still continued on as usual, reading myths about the knight in red, a moon princess that was a vampire, and other things in memory of Charles.

One day, she decided to walk out of the palace and go to a grave in a field of white flowers. Eerie as it was, the people buried here were finally at peace now, as represented by the white flowers. They fought for however long their life was but still made the most out of it. The grave of Charles Miller, Bill, and Stanley Woods were there. A proud squad of Kartel soldiers who gave Ghent one heck of a fight and yet were more human than most Kartels would ever be.

*Insert Rockman Zero 4's Freesia theme here*

One of the stones said "Here lies Charles Miller, born Circa April, 29, 1972, death April, 5, 2012." One would think that he was smiling, wherever he was in the afterlife. The Princess laid flowers on his grave. She wasn't happy to see such a sight after having to bury his dead corpse which had a smile on it. He seemed serene back then when she saw him though. A man satisfied with his life and dying the way heroes would only wish they could die. She still broke down and cried tears for her long gone friend, wishing he could be here to witness how peaceful things were after the war.

"You might have been a villain, but in the end, you were a heroic figure of your generation. A man who didn't give up in spite of impossible odds, who found humanity, and whose death ultimately started to bring the end to a long and bloody war. The new generation may surpass the old generation, but the old generation provides us a foundation to work towards our goals. I hope you're happy, wherever you are." She said, stopping the flow of tears to make a statement. She was quite upset that they couldn't have good times anymore but she was glad that he went off satisfied. The Princess did one final salute before she left her friend to rest. After a tiring life of loss and fights, he and his friends really did deserve that break.

So thus ends the story of a man who lost his humanity, lost his friends, and finally did something worthwhile in the end of his life. He was never a hero and yet at the end of his life, he helped Ghent get back their beloved princess which started the war's end by sacrificing his own life. The curtains have fallen on the old generation of people like Charles but the show's only beginning for the new generation of better folks like Ed and Natasha.

-The end.

* * *

Author's note: Well, the end of the story was a lot better than I'd expected for a "Bad Guy." To everyone who's read this, I hope you enjoy it. Took an agonizing amount of effort humanizing a side that's normally just cast into stories as the bad guys with no sense of humanity who die to Dungeon Fighters like fleas. I'm still proud of this fanfic though since it was the first one I poured a large amount of thought into. I don't know how this story and the Ghent version are the only two in this whole Dungeon Fighter section that spans on for more than three chapters with an ending to boot. Even weirder since it's not even really about a specific Dungeon fighter in the first place. Ah well, what's done is done.


End file.
